


The Blood Maiden

by cronashy_absentia



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Avatar, Because of Reasons, Child Abuse, Gen, bending au, hints of kirona, it's medusa and crona what do you expect, very little SoMa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 18:36:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5795491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cronashy_absentia/pseuds/cronashy_absentia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Medusa has kept Crona away from any other contact, but Crona has been keeping secrets from her as well: Crona's a Waterbender. They do their best to keep it a secret from Medusa, but once she finds out, Crona's life beings a downward spiral into the deadly practice of Bloodbending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Blood Maiden

**Author's Note:**

> Crona Week 2016 entry. It was used to fulfill all of the prompts, and it was split into pieces on tumblr. But now that it's done, I'm posting it here.

Goosebumps formed on my arms, causing them to shake slightly, but my concentration didn’t waver. I focused on the ripples in the water, and moved my fingers to alter their paths.

Casting a side glance towards my mother, my shoulders relaxed slightly when I noticed that she remained with her back to me, picking fruit grumpily from the orchard trees. She hated labor, and she would rather I do all the work for her. But I couldn’t reach the ripe fruit even with our stepladder, so she begrudgingly gathered food for us.

I did most of the other work, even though I was young at the time. I never knew quite how old I was, as Medusa never celebrated my birthday, but I think I was between five and seven. My tiny hands cleaned every surface in our home, made the beds to perfection, and prepared most of our food.

But I never wanted Medusa to know what I did when she had her back to me. She would take all the fun out of it and attempt to use it. She’d try to make it hers. The movements I made with my fingers and hands, the way the water of the creek would shape itself to my will.

I never wanted her to see me Bend.

I knew Medusa couldn’t Bend; she complained near constantly to me how much she wanted to be a Bender. The very thought of my mother having control over an element was enough to give me nightmares.

Yet somehow, I had been born with the ability to Bend. It seemed strange to be born a Waterbender in the Fire Nation, and I thought that perhaps my father had been a visiting member from one of the Water Tribes. But Medusa never mentioned him, so I couldn’t know for certain.

Wherever it came from, Bending was my gift, my special talent. I did it in secret to keep it that way. I took comfort in it, in the fact that I had something that was all my own. I never wanted to share it with Medusa.

Noticing a small fish swimming with the current, I picked up a sphere of water and surrounded it. It lifted into the air, safely encased in the water, and I smiled. Its shimmering red scales contrasted with the gloom and dull colors of the surrounding land in our corner of the Fire Nation. It swam in small circles in its little ball, which I held suspended in the air a few inches from my face. With round eyes the fish peered at me, while its little mouth opened and closed almost quizzically.

“Crona!”

I gasped, and my focus broke. The water I held fell downward into the stream, splashing me, and the little red fish panicked and swum off quickly. I wanted to tell it to stay, but Medusa grabbed my bare arm and hoisted me to my feet.

“I called your name,” she said sharply, but instead of reprimanding like she would normally if I didn’t respond to her, she grabbed my hands. Her golden eyes stared at my small, dirty palms with an emotion I couldn’t read. “What were you doing just now?”

I gulped. “M-making the water move,” I whimpered.

Medusa’s thumbs traced across my fingers. “Bending,” she whispered, half to herself.

I wanted to hide. I wanted to run. I wanted her to forget she had ever seen me Bending, but I couldn’t do any of that. All I could do was follow after my mother as she stood, pulling me back towards the sorry hut we called our house.

* * *

 

Medusa got scrolls for me. I’m not completely sure how she got them, but we didn’t have much money, so I suspected that she had probably stolen them. The rolled-up papers contained positions and aspects of Waterbending, and she demanded that I study the material meticulously every day.

She provided me a bucket of water to practice on, which was in no way as fun or interesting as Bending in the creek. But I practiced anyway, in fear of what Medusa would do to me if I didn’t show constant improvement.

I had been working under her supervision for a year when my training, and my Bending itself, took a turn for the worse.

Medusa crouched down next to me while I leaned over the bucket. I shifted my stance as my palms flattened, lifting the bucket’s entire contents into the air to flow in a stream over our heads. It whirled around the room for a moment, before I caused it to float above the bucket, dripping down back into it like rain.

“Excellent,” purred Medusa, reaching for my hand once I was done. I let her do so, not paying much attention to her and turning the bucket water into a small whirlpool with my other fingers.

I cried out suddenly when swift, blazing pain flashed across my palm. Whipping around to Medusa, I wrenched my hand away from hers reflexively, while she didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned for me as she set the bloodied knife on the floor beside her.

“Now that you’re bleeding,” she said, as if she had just pointed out that my eyes were blue, “What can you tell me about your blood?”

I shook with fear and pain, daring to gaze down at the ugly red gash in my skin. Crimson blood oozed from it, dripping from my hand onto our dirt floor, trickling between the lines in my palm like miniature red rivers.

“It’s… red?” I said softly, and my voice wavered. Medusa gave me a hard look.

“What else?” she snapped in a tone that told me I’d get punished if I gave her another wrong answer.

I gulped and searched my mind quickly. All I could think to say were obvious observations, so I simply shook my head and squeezed my eyes tight. I could almost feel my mother’s disapproval chilling me like harsh snow.

“It’s _liquid_ , Crona,” she spat. I opened my eyes slowly, but simply watched Medusa’s hands, not daring to meet her certainly perturbed gaze. “What else is liquid?”

This I knew. “Water.” I spoke quietly, hoarsely, but then I cleared my throat and repeated, “Water is liquid.”

My mother’s tense hands relaxed in her lap. “Very good, Crona,” she said, and I could hear some of the irritation fade from her voice. “And you can bend water. So do you think…” She scooted closer, bringing a hand under my chin to look her in the eye. She had on that false look of pleading, as if she was simply asking a question and not poorly disguising a demand. “Do you think you could try and bend your blood for me? Just a little.”

I stared into her golden, snake-like irises. Her pupils, dark and small, reflected back to me the image of a malnourished and shaking child. I nodded, and the reflection nodded back while I did as I was told. Slowly, I moved my other hand over my bleeding palm, not close enough to touch. I could feel the blood, however, like I could feel water. I was able to sense its energy, energy that I could release and manipulate.

I easily lifted beads of blood from my hand and twirled them around. I then formed them into a small stream, which weaved in-between the heads of Medusa and me in a figure eight before dropping into my water bucket. The droplets fell with a small _plop_ , creating thin red patterns that bloomed into swirls in the formerly clear water.

When I turned back to my mother, I discovered that her face showed the closest thing to approval that I had ever seen cross her features.

“That’s wonderful, dear,” she grinned, ruffling my hair slightly. She only called me that when she tried to butter me up. Unfortunately, I liked the sound it made when it rolled off her tongue, and I always found myself falling for her charm. “Now, you keep working on your Bending. See if you can get the bleeding to stop while I make dinner.”

My face lit up as Medusa stood. “You’re making dinner?” I asked incredulously. She nodded, smiling pleasantly at me as she walked into the next room.

“Of course. Anything for my little Bloodbender,” she said.

I froze. Without warning, when Medusa uttered the new word, all my cheerfulness and excitement left me to be replaced by inexplicable horror. And despite the warm supper Medusa fed me, that haunting term sent chills down my spine for the rest of the evening.

Bloodbender. I already loathed it.

* * *

 

Whenever I would successfully Bloodbend, Medusa would cook for me. Everything she made was delicious: Steaming bean soup that burnt my tongue with every first sip, dumplings that burst with vegetable flavor whenever my teeth bit into them, fresh fruit filled with delicious juice, and tart pie for dessert, which was always baked to saccharine perfection with a flaky crust.

Although, if I did something wrong, she withheld food from me until I got it right. The first time that happened, Medusa had been trying to teach me to Bend blood inside a living creature. She had presented me with an elephant rat to try my skills, but I refused. For punishment, she withheld meals from me until I agreed to Bloodbend.

Though I was weak from malnourishment, I discovered the next morning that I could manipulate the elephant rat’s blood and control its movements. With a tense stance, I caused it to stand on its hind legs before it fell over backwards. Medusa rewarded me with an entire meal of dessert and sugary foods.

I hated that lifestyle. The uncertainty of meals and Medusa’s physical abuse degraded my very sanity, and I progressed slowly. Eventually I could manipulate blood enough to get the rats crawling across the floor without their consent. But that was after years of practice, and Medusa continuously grew more cruel and bloodthirsty as time progressed.

The breaking point occurred when Zuko was crowned Fire Lord.

The day Medusa received the news, my training became more rigorous and difficult. My muscles and stomach ached from my mother’s stern drills, and I could tell that a change had come over her. She no longer smiled and rewarded me for my progress. Instead, she threatened me, abandoning her sugary façade, swearing that I’d have no food or water at all until I did as I was told and did it right. There were some days that I thought I was going to die from her treatment of me.

Months later, Medusa instructed me to kill an elephant rat with Bloodbending. Foolish enough to have a conscience in front of my mother, I hesitated, resulting in her grabbing my shoulders and whirling me around to face her. I had reached her height, and her cold eyes were completely level with my frightened irises.

“You _will_ kill it,” she practically snarled. “You will kill that rat. And you’ll kill more. You’ll kill anyone I tell you to kill.”

My rising fear froze me to the spot as Medusa kept going.

“You’re going to get me on that throne, Crona. And if anyone gets in my way, you’ll cause them to choke on their own blood,” she said, in a voice so cold and emotionless that my body rattled with terror. I attempted to back away from her, but her icy hands grasped my thin shoulders like talons. “Zuko is a pathetic little brat with no honor. I refuse to let anyone sit on that throne besides me, especially the scarred prince.”

All I could do was nod and hope she’d let me go. When she did, bringing her arms to her side, I backed away slowly. Her eyes remained cold, her stance almost placid as a single hand rested on her hip, the other hanging downward. I hated how she’d do that: how she acted nonplussed constantly, even when I could hear the murder on her tongue and sense the wrath in her blood.

“Now,” she spoke calmly, her tone like frozen venom as she pointed once more at the elephant rat in its small cage. “Kill it.”

I had no choice. I settled my stance and closed my eyes, concentrating on the water I could feel in that warm body. To be honest, I somewhat liked the energy I could feel from blood. All those tiny river-like veins, contained in one creature, holding so much power over its life. I balled one fist, holding it at my side, while my other arm extended with my hand in a dragon claw. I took a deep breath in through my nose, and then exhaled it slowly through my mouth. Calm was imperative if I was to carry out my Bending.

My eyes abruptly snapped open. My open hand tightened into a fist and jerked down to my side, while my other hand flew in front of me in an open-air punch. Years of practice paid off, and my Bloodbending worked perfectly.

Medusa’s head slammed into the wall, knocking her unconscious. She slid to the ground, her eyes rolling back into her skull, blood beginning to drip from a wound on her head, though her chest still rose and fell with breath. But I had no time to think about what I had done. I swiftly released the elephant rat from its cage before scrambling to the cupboard to grab two buns, which I stuffed in my pockets. I had no belongings worth taking with me, so I merely dashed out the door and into the thick woods.

I ran until I collapsed, completely out of breath, beneath a cover of bushes. My lungs heaved and ached, while my heart beat so rapidly that my head throbbed and my vision blurred.

The reality of what I had done struck me then, and I tried to keep from crying out in fear and pain. Afraid of Medusa and her plans, I had turned my bending on her instead of the rat. But I could only be so brave. I had let her live, and now she’d be looking for me.

And I knew full well that she’d kill me if she found me.

As soon as I regained my breath, I was on the run again. I moved more slowly, however, still exhausted and growing ever more tired as the sun sank behind the treetops and my trek continued on into the darkness of night.

Despite the fatigue that threatened to slow me, my entire body stayed constantly on edge. Every leaf rusting in the wind, every croak of a badgerfrog, every snap of a branch beneath an aardvark sloth’s clawed foot started me, keeping my senses on high alert. Every one of those sounds could’ve been Medusa, coming for me. She’d likely bring her sword and her bow; her swordsmanship was unparalleled, and her proficiency with arrows would’ve probably landed her a spot with the Yuyan Archers if she had wanted.

I pulled one of the buns from my pocket, hoping that its tasteless crumbs would restore some of my energy. So why did she want me to kill for her, I wondered, if she was perfectly capable of wiping out the Fire Lord by herself?

I gulped down a mouthful of bread, nearly choking myself as I ran steadily around bushes and roots. I already knew the answer. I was an experiment, to see how she could use me. I was little more than a tool, and she didn’t care if I was caught and killed. She might be upset in the way she would be irritated if her sword was broken, but not like she should be over the loss of her child. She’d find something else to use. Another skill, another blade, another pawn. But if my mother could help it, she wanted the blood on someone else’s hands.

Faint lights shone through the forest, and I found myself moving faster. Medusa had never brought me to the port village, having forced me to stay at home, but she went there at least once a month to collect food and supplies that we didn’t have on our small farm.

I slipped through the tree line to the town’s outskirts. A few citizens still walked in the streets under the lamplight, but the cobblestone sat mostly deserted in the final hours of the day. The marketplace lay dormant as I walked through the quiet stalls, and I wrapped my arms around my hunched shoulders.

The unfamiliar roar of the ocean grew louder the further I walked. When I could finally see the dark water glinting beneath the moonlight, my feetp stopped completely dead in their tracks.

Though our island was small, Medusa had never allowed me to leave our home to see anything beyond our dreary fields and the nearby stony mountains. I had never been close enough to the coast to hear the ocean or feel its energy. But at that moment, I could sense the immeasurable potential of the sea. Like a cacophony of sound and movement, it pulled at my veins and drew me towards it, while simultaneously paralyzing me with its sheer size and power.

After staring for not nearly as long as I wanted to, I forced myself to travel forward. The sea was my ticket to escape from this island, but if I was going to make it away from Medusa, I needed to move fast.

Various boats sat in the harbor; vessels in all sorts of materials and shapes, decorated with different colors and emblems. I made my way towards the largest one, a wooden trade boat, despite the guilt that rose up in my throat as I checked to make sure no one was watching my actions. I had to do this. I had to get away, I told myself over and over. No matter what, I couldn’t let her find me.

At my first step onto the flimsy-looking gangplank, it creaked and bent beneath my meager weight. I gasped, terrified that I could be heard, and set my other foot down more slowly. When it creaked even louder, I jumped a little and frantically skittered up to the ship amidst a chorus of squeaks and groans from the gangplank.

Once I made it on deck, l stopped for a moment and leaned against the ship’s side as I let my breath catch up with me. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, sending frightened shaking into my hands, even as I gripped the wood I leaned against. But I brought my fists to my sides and clenched them, trying to steel my nerves as I crept towards the large trapdoors that led to the cargo hold.

The doors were heavy, but I managed to get them open and close them tightly behind me as soon as I began to crawl down the stairs. I felt my way in the dark, bumping into boxes, stumbling over bags. Groping blindly, I finally felt piles of sacks that seemed comfortable enough. I laid down on them, shivering slightly in the cold, but comforted by the proximity of the ocean. Despite never having been on a ship before, I had no trouble balancing myself with the hull’s swaying motion. I wondered if perhaps that was because I was in tune with the energy of the water, so I adjusted to the tossing movement of the sea and allowed it to rock me to sleep.

* * *

 

When I awoke the next morning, bright sunlight shone directly down on me from between the cracks in the deck above me. The sounds of the sea had grown stronger, and I could hear faint voices and footsteps as my eyelids fluttered.

I yawned and stretched a little, though my back ached when I arched it. My stomach growled slightly before I pulled the last bun from my pocket. The small loaf had been flattened, presumably when I rolled onto my side in my sleep, but its dull taste remained unaffected. I only planned to eat half of it, not sure how long I’d have to hold out on food before the ship docked again.

Upon my first bite of the dry bun, its crumbs practically burned my parched throat. I coughed a little after swallowing, and felt my lips with my tongue only to realize how dry they were. I needed water.

For a moment I wondered to myself if I could use bending to sieve the salt out of ocean water, but before I could try anything, I heard the hold’s doors slam open.

“Maka, we haven’t even left the dock yet!” A voice called, followed by the sound of feet climbing down the stairs. I quickly moved to hide behind a stack of bags, my eyes wide and my knees shaking. I couldn’t let them find me.

“I don’t care; I’m not going out on that ocean again without those herbs!” A woman’s voice called back. Another pair of footsteps, heavier ones, trailed behind her.

“We’re going to run out before we get halfway there if you keep taking those things. Your seasickness can’t be _that_ bad,” the other voice replied.

The woman huffed, and I curled up tighter as I heard their sounds draw nearer. “You’re used to traveling by boat, Soul. Try being an Earthbender who’s lived in the mountains her whole life. I hate not feeling earth.”

I relaxed a little bit. I understood how she felt; now that I had been near the ocean, I never wanted to leave it again.

I was broken out of my thoughts and sympathies when the large bag that my head had been against was abruptly pulled out from behind me, shocking me and pulling a scream from my mouth. I turned around sharply, Bending quickly, throwing my hand out in front of me to hold the woman in place.

Heart racing in panic, I examined her. Her build was small, but muscular, clothed with a dull green-and-brown tunic, trousers, and boots that revealed her Earth Kingdom nationality. Two bright green ribbons tied her blonde hair into pigtails, while her expression and jade eyes seemed shocked and terrified.

“Don’t move!” I cried, shaking with fear and the effort it took to hold still an entire, struggling human. I knew full well that she couldn’t move under my grip, but I spat out the first words that came to mind. “Move and I’ll… I’ll break your arm!” I added.

“Maka?!” The man’s voice called, the sound of his footfalls developing into a run. I saw him as he turned a corner around crates: brown, red, and orange curved armor, white hair, and crimson, panicked irises. A Fire Nation soldier. I watched as the terror in his eyes morphed into rage.

“Let her go,” he growled, his fists clenching at his sides. They burst into flames suddenly, and I cried out in fear. “I said,” he spoke, louder, “Let her go! Now!”

I threw my other arm out towards him, attempting to hold him in place, but the strain from keeping Maka still only allowed me to hold on to Soul’s legs. He seemed stunned for a moment, struggling to move his legs, before he raised his arm as if to hurl his fire at me.

“Soul, don’t!” shouted Maka. “You’ll burn this whole ship down!”

The Firebender seethed a little, but extinguished his flames. The woman turned her head to me, the only part of her body that I had left mobile, and watched me closely.

“Hello,” she spoke slowly. “I don’t know how you’re keeping us from moving, but you need to let us go now.”

I shook my head rapidly. “I can’t,” I stammered. “If I let you go, you’ll get me kicked off this ship. I need to stay here.”

Maka frowned. “Why is that?”

Soul huffed. “Hurry it up; my legs are starting to go numb.”

Maka shot him a small glare, but I eased my Bending to allow more blood to flow.

“If it’s that important, I can try my best to convince the Captain to let you stay,” she replied, turning her attention back to me, “But I can only do that if you let me go. Okay?”

I hesitated. I didn’t know if I could trust her, and I doubted I would be able to rely on the Firebender. However, I was too weak to hold them for long. I sighed, dropping my arms and releasing them. Both stumbled forward with their sudden return of mobility, but they picked themselves up.

“Thank you,” spoke the blonde, finally setting her suitcase down. I backed away from them, but I couldn’t go very far before the side of the ship blocked my retreat. Maka approached me, holding her arm out, and I squeezed my eyes shut. An outstretched arm could do anything: hit me, slap me, grab me. I flattened myself against the hull, drying to delay contact with her for as long as possible.

“Are you okay?”

I blinked, opening a single eye to look at her. Strangely, the woman appeared concerned. Her hand had been pulled closer to her body, with her palm turned sideways. When I said nothing, she frowned again.

“What’s your name?” she asked a simpler question.

I gulped. “Cr… Crona,” I forced out.

Maka came closer. “Well, Crona, I’m Maka. The hothead over there is Soul,” she explained.

“I’m not a hothead,” grumbled Soul.

“And we’re not going to hurt you,” Maka continued, ignoring him. “I promise.”

I remained silent, but I unstuck myself from the wall. My eyes traveled towards my shoes, while one palm moved to rub against my other arm.

“Are you hungry or thirsty? I made some breakfast earlier,” the blonde said. I picked my head up, nodding slowly. Maka smiled a little at me.

“Come on upstairs, then. It should still be warm.”

I nodded again, tailing her tentatively with small steps.

“Kid?” Maka called, stepping into the small galley. I couldn’t see who she was talking to, while Soul closed the doors to the cargo hold behind us and brought up the rear. I heard the blonde sigh. “For the spirits’ sake, Kid, what are you doing?”

“My breakfast has to be arranged perfectly symmetrically on my plate before I eat it,” A man’s voice protested irritably. Maka sighed as I crept up behind her.

“It’s going to get cold before you eat it,” she said. Flicking her eyes back towards me, she cleared her throat. “Kid, we have another passenger.”

I poked my head inside the galley, seeing a small table and stove, with a few bags and barrels of food supplies, while a pet lop-eared rabbit sat in a cage on the adjacent wall. At the table sat a black-haired man, who muttered to himself with his back to us, wearing large, black and white robes.

Maka crossed her arms over her chest. “Kid,” she said sharply. “You’ll let Crona stay on this ship. Is that clear?”

Kid turned his head towards Maka suddenly, allowing me to catch sight of his eyes, which were the color of molten gold. I stared at them, both unnerved and captivated by their color.

“Maka, I am the captain of this ship, and I get to decide who stays and who goes,” he said sternly, and the blonde looked as if she was ready to shout at him before Kid fixed me in his gaze. I jumped back a little, but knocked directly into Soul. “I assume you’re Crona,” continued Kid. I nodded hesitantly.

"I don’t think we can trust Crona,” muttered Soul. I instantly wrapped my arms around myself and curled up slightly, as if trying to appear as small as possible. I jumped again when Kid put his hand on my shoulder.

“There’s always room on my ship for those who are willing to help with it. Can you work?” he said.

I lifted my head. “Yes, sir,” I said quickly. Kid chuckled a little, removing his hand. The touch had felt gentle, warm. I was unused to it. Though I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t mind having more of it.

“There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Crona,” he said. “It’s just ‘Kid.’”

Without warning, he threw his arms wide, startling me.

“Kid the world-renowned trader and barterer of the finest aesthetic goods!” he declared proudly. “Earthenware from the Earth Kingdom! Jade from the Fire Nation! And only the best bone carvings from the Water Tribes!”

“In other words: he sells trinkets, statues, and pointless things to hang on your wall,” smirked Soul.

Kid looked taken aback. “I do not!” he proclaimed. “I sell the finest in decoration and collectibles!”

“You sell overpriced bric-a-brac,” retorted the Firebender.

While Soul and Kid bickered in the background, Maka led me over to the stove. “There’s a little bit of breakfast left over. We have a few rolls, honey to put on them, and some mangoes. Oh, and we’ve got milk to drink. How does that sound?”

A smile made its way across my lips, and my stomach growled eagerly as eyed the offered food. “Yes, please,” I said.

The breakfast tasted delicious. I had never had milk before; Medusa had always served me water. Milk was thicker, richer. I liked it.

Maka watched me with a smile, but after Soul and Kid settled down, she addressed the latter seriously. “Kid,” she said, “Crona did something odd earlier, below deck. I was wondering if you could possibly explain it to us.”

I nearly chocked on my food. Kid’s brow furrowed.

“Go on.”

I began to panic. I had already revealed to two people that I could Bloodbend; I didn’t need a third knowing of my ability.

Maka seemed to notice my distress. “Crona, would you like to tell me yourself what happened?” she said.

My hands practically vibrated, so I sat on them and shook my head rapidly. Hopefully, Kid wouldn’t be able to figure out what I had done.

“I think Crona may have used some sort of Bending on us,” Maka said. “We couldn’t move. We were kept in place, like our bodies were being controlled.”

Kid appeared puzzled for a moment, but then his jaw slacked and hung open in shock. He turned swiftly to stare at me, and I felt as if I wanted the chair I sat in to swallow me up.

“You can Bloodbend?” he breathed.

Maka looked puzzled. “Bloondbend?” she parroted. Kid nodded.

“It’s a developing subskill of Waterbending. I’ve only heard of two people that were ever able to do it: a criminal Waterbender, and the Avatar’s partner,” he explained. “Did you learn from either of them?”

I shook my head. “My mother taught me,” I murmured. Kid cast a side glance at the rabbit in the cage.

“Could you Bloodbend the rabbit for us?” he asked. Soul slammed a hand down on the table.

“You can’t tell Crona to hurt Blair!” he shouted.

Maka shrugged. “I never liked that rabbit. You didn’t need to bring it along, you know.”

Soul fixed the Earthbender in a glare. “I saved her from being gorilla goat food!” he said. “She’s my responsibility!”

Blair let out a small choking sound as I stood her on her hind legs by merely raising my arm.

“Blair!” Soul cried, startling me into abruptly letting go of the rabbit. It flopped back down into its cage, and the white-haired man rushed over to his pet.

“That’s…” Kid trailed off, eying me with emotions on his face that I couldn’t read. “… That’s actually very fascinating, Crona.”

Soul cradled the bunny in his arms. “It’s not fascinating,” he mumbled. Kid ignored him, and I heard the trader shift in his seat.

“You said your mother taught you. Is she a Waterbender?”

My gaze traveled upwards once more, catching a glimpse of Kid’s golden eyes beneath his ebony fringe. I said quietly, “No, she’s…”

I cut myself off quickly. From behind Kid, I could barely see her, standing nearly as still as a statue, pulling back her arrow to fire. My breath hitched in my throat, and without thinking I lunged forward across the table. Kid yelped as I knocked him to the ground, his chair slamming into the floor. The arrow whistled in the air above us before burying itself in the wall, directly level with where Kid’s head had been a fraction of a second ago.

“Crona, what-!” he exclaimed, but my eyes were focused on the figure behind him. She glared at me as she loaded her bow a second time.

“She’s here,” I breathed.

I stood up from the floor. That familiar frightened shaking feeling crept up my legs and arms, but I struggled to keep it from showing. I kept silent even though I wanted to speak, to demand that Medusa leave and never come back. If I opened my mouth I was sure that I’d only be able to scream.

“There you are,” she growled, pointing her arrow at me. I didn’t move. “Do you realize how much of a pain it was to find you? Do you know how much my head still hurts?” she snapped at me. I could see the dried blood on her face and in her hair; she hadn’t even stopped to clean herself off. “Lucky for me, you don’t know the first thing about running away. Step one: Actually kill your mother.”

She began walking forward, still holding out her arrow.

“Step two: Make yourself hard to track.”

Kid had picked himself up, but all three of my companions stayed silent.

“Step three: Get a rowboat if you have to, but get away from that cursed island as fast as you possibly can,” Medusa said. She smirked slowly as she pointed her arrow directly at my heart. “It worked for me.”

I raised my arm swiftly, causing Medusa’s arms to point directly upward and fire into the sky. I then set both palms in front of me, pushing her to the floor slowly. I could feel her resisting me, but I almost became too scared to continue bending when she started laughing.

“Good, Crona,” she grinned as her arms hung by her sides and her knees folded beneath her. “It looks like I’ve taught you well.”

I froze. This was what she wanted, I realized. She wanted this all along, for me to use my Bloodbending to control others. I was satisfying her.

I released my hold suddenly, and took a step back. An unfamiliar emotion pricked at me, flowing down into my hands and clenching them into fists, and then it moved towards my eyes to harden my sight into a glare.

Medusa stood, matching my hard stare. “Well, Crona?” she said, her hand settling on the sword at her side.

I spread my arms wide. The ocean’s energy practically beckoned me, begging me to feel its power in my hands.

I obeyed.

I hurled the water at Medusa. It was liberating, having formerly been focused on precise amounts of water like blood veins and buckets, to feel the size and potential of the ocean and manipulate it.

With more than a little bit of satisfaction, I watched as Medusa’s expression suddenly became one of panic as saltwater enveloped her. I wondered if she had thought that I could ever be strong enough to overpower her. Yet there she writhed, struggling under my Bending, bested by the weapon she had so painstakingly forged.

I dropped her before she lost consciousness, and Medusa fell to the floor, panting. Maka and Soul rushed forward at that moment, grabbing her sword from her. They held her hands behind her back while hoisting her to her feet. My mother picked her dripping head up to glare at me, seething at first, but she quickly wiped the emotion from her face, masking it with false sorrow.

“Crona, you wouldn’t do this to your mother,” she crooned, gazing at me. When my stone face didn’t waver, she went on. “Please, dear. You know I love you.”

Something in me snapped. At that small comment, I wanted her dead. I wanted her drowned. I wanted her blood spilling out onto the deck, and I wanted to beat her corpse with it.

Instead, I ground my teeth, turning my back to her. If I saw that look on her face one more time, I’d want to crush it.

“No,” I spat, finally letting the shaking control my body. “I know that you never did.”

She said more, her voice devolving into screams as Soul and Maka carried her back into the town, but I paid no attention to her. I assumed that she’d probably be imprisoned for her abuse and attempted murder, but I wanted nothing more to do with her.

My knees suddenly gave out from under me. I fell to the deck, chest heaving, everything shaking, my hands moving to cover my face. I felt Kid’s arms wrap around my shoulders as the tears began slipping from my eyes and my mouth opened to release silent sobs.

I couldn’t believe anything about what had just happened. Couldn’t comprehend that Medusa was gone for good. Couldn’t understand how I had been so ready to kill. The only things I could comprehend were Kid’s arms around me.

As I cried for every reason and no reason, I was glad that I had that to latch onto.

* * *

 

Kid’s ship sailed smoothly to Capital City, were he sold some of his wares and dropped off Maka and Soul. Soul confessed to me that he wanted to propose to Maka, but he wanted his grandmother who lived in the Capital to meet her first. They said that they could find their own way back to the Earth Kingdom.

I’m happy for them. Marriage between the different cultures was unheard of during the war, but I think Soul and Maka will be some of the first to take that step into unity between the nations.

Medusa was sentenced to life in prison for her actions. Sometimes, a small part of me hopes that she never sees the sun in her cell. Other times, I’m almost sorry for her.

Almost.

I opted to stay with Kid. I’ve never felt more at home than I do when I’m on the ocean and with him. He makes me feel welcome, and I’ve learned to cook for him a little. He plans to visit the Northern Water Tribe soon, so maybe I can meet some other Waterbenders.

But I’m not just a Waterbender. I’m not just a Bloodbender, or just my mother’s weapon. I am strong. I am a friend. I am loved.

I am Crona.


End file.
